Doc Nights
CHULAS FRONTERAS & DEL MERO CORAZÓN
Directed by Les Blank
USA, 1976 & 1979, 1h 27min, DCP, In Spanish and English with English Subtitles
There are no current or future screenings planned for this film.
“The films make clear that the corridos belted out on screen by artists like Flaco and Santiago Jimenez, Los PIngüinos del Norte, Los Alegres de Terán, and other giants of the genre, are American to the core, the products and stories of immigrants and laborers struggling for footholds in a new country.” – Film Comment
“[Les Blank’s] work remains some of the richest, most palpable sensory experiences ever committed to celluloid—films that welcome viewers into vibrant, authentic cultural spaces and treat them like special guests.” – Slant
Les Blank’s CHULAS FRONTERAS is a complex, insightful look at the Chicano experience as mirrored in the lives and music of the most acclaimed Norteño musicians of the time, including Flaco Jímenez and Lydia Mendoza. Preceded by DEL MERO CORAZÓN, Blank’s lyrical short film about Norteño love songs and the musicians who perform them.
